sing
is this loop tied to the end toggle?
Yes
for a seakayak, you’ll need more length than what can be seen on my own Venom (craft on the right):
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1482850466043300790Zzbcxz
sing
Help the swimmer do what?
Stirrups are basically a bad idea for self-rescue to begin with and I can’t see any use for one when dealing with a swimmer.
Find out if the boats will have radios
– Last Updated: May-30-07 8:39 AM EST –
I'd much rather hail a boat on a VHF than try to rely on paddle signals, particularly if conditions get rough. (If the boats aren't radio equipped, I'd have serious questions about the organization of the event.) As another poster mentioned, a spare PFD for the swimmer seems like a must-have item.
Panicked v Not Swimmers
It is likely that the folks doing this race will be mostly solid swimmers and unlikely to panic. But there is always the risk that someone is out there for the first time, gets a cramp and forgets whatever they may have practiced in a pool about how to stay afloat around a body part that is no longer cooperating.
Way back in Junior Lifesaving, just after a group of us had passed, the instructor finished the course by saying that if someone is really panicked, we shouldn’t even think about using any of the contact skills we had just learned. Especially as he looked at a bunch of girls that probably weighed 80 pounds tops. The only thing he recommended is find something to throw at the swimmer from a distance which is at least 10 feet from the swimmer, and swim hard to stay that far apart when we tow or pull it in. That was because a panicked swimmer will climb on top of just about anything, including their rescuer, and at our size we weren’t likely to able get up against that.
I suspect the same kind of issue can arise in these races.
I thought about doing this and went
out with a group & a swimmer who will be competing-she swam half way out to Alcatraz from the Aquatic Park and was given a tow assist on the way back-due more to the current (4 knot) than anything. One thing I was told that you also need to continue to direct the swimmer(s) as they cannot see direction well and veer off course-you swim forward to one side-usually the side the current is pushing them and yell either “go left” or “go right”. I believe they can only hold on for a few minutes before being “rescued”- sometimes after resting they will be allowed to continue the swim if they want. Most who require assistance are not the “winners” I will not be helping out this year.
ML
aha
Good solution, thanks.
Had one try to climb on
I did a triathlon for years with some other paddlers.
Many “strong” swimmers don’t train in waves and a choppy day can get some of them a little panicky. One woman flagged me down, I went over and in a second she was climbing up on my deck. I told her to hang on the front bow and she wrapped her legs around my kayak holding on the bow with a death grip.
Fortunately we had a Zodiac on duty that came over and took her.
I always carry a boat cushion for a throwing device. Really you need an inflatable on duty and the kayaks are an intermediate, mobile rescue device.
99.999% - everyone will be fine. It’s fun and good practice as well as a good gesture to help out. Don’t forget, you can always raft up if someone really needs out of the water.
they timed the race to the tide
– Last Updated: May-30-07 7:39 PM EST –
It appears they timed the race to the tide. An hour after the race starts is low tide at Pier 41, so the currents should be light (not that they ever stop). Calculating off the current charts, there could be as much as a 1 knot current heading toward the Gate during the race (which is the direction they want to swim).
That tide would be so much better
than what our swimmer did. I was very impressed with her-she has done swim contests but this will be her first time in the ocean. It was good to hear her version from a swimmers perspective. They can get off course very easily-so the kayakers help to keep them headed in the right direction. Have fun with it!
ML